It didn't take long for everyone in the mansion to hear about this. Chen Tingfeng didn't intend to keep it a secret. Instead, he took this opportunity to warn some servants who had had crooked ideas.
Fu Zhen was half - reclined on the couch. Bi Yu was massaging her legs.
Cui Huan lifted the curtain and came in. She bowed to Fu Zhen. Fu Zhen glanced at her and said, "Bi Yu, take a break and go down first."
Bi Yu showed a hesitant expression but finally said nothing. She bowed and left.
Fu Zhen guessed what was on her mind but didn't explain.
Cui Huan sat down and continued to massage Fu Zhen's legs. When there was no more sound of footsteps at the door, she said, "Hemiao made a mistake and was sold. No wealthy family would buy her. I heard that the matchmaker wanted to sell her to a brothel because she was good - looking. But Hemiao was so eloquent that she managed to persuade the matchmaker to sell her to the Jiang family. It's said that she's now holding the curtain for Lord Jiang."
Fu Zhen was really surprised. "Lord Jiang?"
She naturally knew that Hemiao was eloquent, but she didn't expect that instead of serving Young Master Jiang, she would end up with Lord Jiang...
Cui Huan sneered. "Madam Jiang wouldn't dare to put her beside Young Master Jiang. Even when she was with Lord Jiang, Madam Jiang scolded her, saying she was a coquettish and immoral girl."
Fu Zhen smiled faintly. "Alright. She's an unimportant person. Don't inquire about her anymore."
As a newcomer, the only person she could rely on was Cui Huan. All the information about Hemiao was obtained through Cui Huan's connections. Although they had covered their tracks, it couldn't withstand a careful investigation.
Moreover, this matter wasn't that serious. Who would have thought that there was someone behind a maid who wanted to be a concubine?
An ordinary person, like Madam Bai, would surely not bother to investigate, but Chen Tingfeng might.
He was actually a man with a strong desire for control. It was because in Fu Zhen's dream, his coldness was so deeply engraved in her mind that she mistakenly thought he didn't care about such trivial matters, which was why she showed a flaw in front of Chen Tingfeng.
If Yuanbao was Chen Tingfeng's ear in the open, then Qian Tong was his eye in the dark.
After Qian Tong finished speaking, the room fell silent.
Chen Tingfeng was silent for a while and then suddenly smiled.
"Good move," he said.
Yuanbao, with his head down outside the room, thought that this didn't sound like a compliment but rather a mockery.
"Don't investigate anymore. Go down," Chen Tingfeng said.
He opened the window and stood still, looking at the red plum trees outside with their branches bent under the snow.
He remembered the day he first met Fu Zhen. She was a thin and small girl with no color on her face, like a timid rabbit that would hide at the slightest noise.
But perhaps it was the Marquis Mansion that gave her confidence. Now she could even show her claws and give others a gentle scratch.
Chen Tingfeng stretched out his hand, and a snowflake fluttered onto his palm. He stared at it with his deep eyes for a while. Just as the snow was about to melt into water and slip out of his hand, he suddenly clenched his fist.
As the twelfth lunar month came, time seemed to fly by, as if it was in a hurry for the New Year.
It snowed heavily yesterday, and today the sun came out. It was always especially cold when the snow was melting.
"Now that there are only a few days left until the New Year, it's time to visit Luobing," Madam Bai said to the Marquis after breakfast.
The Marquis' thick eyebrows twitched. Under them were a pair of eyes just like Chen Tingfeng's, but they were less cold and more human - like, making him seem approachable and even a bit amiable as an elder.
He said, "The border has been unstable these days. The heavy snow has frozen to death the cattle and sheep on the grassland. Those barbarians are waving their swords southward again to rob food. The court is in a heated debate. I'm afraid I won't be able to spare the time. You take her concubine with you to visit."
Madam Bai nodded. Thinking of Chen Luobing's appearance, she couldn't help but sigh. "I don't know if it's because she's been in the Taoist temple for too long, but Luobing's personality is even colder than Shaochuan's. It seems that she's about to transcend the mundane world and become a celestial being."
The Marquis couldn't help but smile. He put his big hand on Madam Bai's shoulder. "She's destined to be with Taoism. It's her fortune. She has a shallow bond with us as parents and children. There's no need to force it."
He wasn't a womanizer. Over the years, he had only taken one concubine, Concubine Su, and she gave birth to a concubine - born daughter who was in poor health and was sent to a Taoist temple to recuperate.
This concubine - born daughter was born after a difficult labor. She was almost suffocated to death in her mother's womb. Fortunately, she was nursed back to life, but she was always sickly. They were always worried that she might die at any time.
Who would have thought that on her first birthday, a Taoist priest came and said that this concubine - born daughter was destined to be with him. He suggested that she follow him to the mountains to practice, where she could be nurtured by nature. Maybe she could grow up healthy.
The Marquis had fought on the battlefield. He didn't believe in ghosts and gods. He originally refused to agree, but Concubine Su knelt down and cried, begging him to let the old Taoist priest give it a try. She said that maybe it would work. Anyway, things couldn't get worse than they were.
Poor parents in the world! The Marquis was so bothered by her crying that he finally relented. He just sent people to check on her from time to time and told the old Taoist priest not to stop them.
The Taoist temple was on Qingcheng Mountain outside the capital. It wasn't too far away. Thinking of this, the Marquis felt relieved.
The old Taoist priest naturally agreed to everything.
They didn't have high hopes at first, but who would have thought that the old Taoist priest was right. The concubine - born daughter gradually got better. Now she was even healthier than ordinary people and hardly ever got sick.
But perhaps because she had been in a quiet place for a long time, her personality was inevitably a bit cold.
Madam Bai remembered the cold and silent eyes of Chen Luobing the last time she saw her. She shook her head with a bitter smile. "Since she grew up healthy, I've discussed with her concubine about bringing her back, but she doesn't want to come back. She said that the mundane world was too restrictive and that the Taoist temple was more comfortable. She also said that her parents had a shallow marital bond in this life and told us not to worry about her marriage."
"I know you don't believe in ghosts and gods, but Luobing's case is really strange. She practices Taoism day and night. Naturally, she understands the theory of destiny better than we do. When she speaks, it's as if she's giving a law. People don't dare not listen to her, for fear that going against her will will shorten her life."
The Marquis also nodded. Chen Luobing hadn't grown up under his care. He was very busy with many things. Sometimes he didn't see her for several years. Moreover, neither of them was a talkative person. They didn't say much when they met, so there was naturally no deep affection between them.
Listening, he just said, "Then let her be."
After saying that, he took the gray fox fur cloak from the maid and strode away.
Madam Bai knew what was on his mind. Seeing him leave in a hurry, she didn't say anything more. She just sent someone to invite Concubine Su.
She took a sip of tea, paused, and then said to Nanny Li beside her, "Zhenzhen hasn't met Luobing yet. Why don't we take her with us this time?"
The more she thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. "Although Luobing is a bit cold - tempered, her nature is pure. Zhenzhen is also a kind and pure person. I'm sure they'll get along well."
Nanny Li smiled when she heard this. "Madam, Second Miss has only been in the Marquis Mansion for half a month. How do you know her personality?"
"Of course I do," Madam Bai gave her a sideways look and snorted. "When she was in the countryside, the widow and the hunter took good care of her. When she left, she gave them all the silver she had saved. After she settled in the Marquis Mansion, she also secretly sent some clothes and silver back."
"These things aren't very valuable, but they're her kind - hearted gesture. It shows that she's grateful," Madam Bai said. "Repaying a drop of kindness with a gushing spring. Isn't such a personality kind and pure?"
Nanny Li naturally knew that there was a bit of an elder's partiality for a younger generation in this, but she really couldn't feel any dislike for Fu Zhen. So she echoed, "Yes, yes, yes. Second Miss has an excellent personality. I'm sure Third Miss will like her."
Madam Bai nodded in satisfaction and immediately decided, "Someone, go and invite Second Miss!"